fMRI

CHDR

CHDR is a pioneer in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI), a powerful tool for measuring the pharmacodynamics of new drugs in the fields of psychiatry and neurology. To develop and test clinical applications for RS-fMRI, CHDR works closely with the Pharmaco-MRI Research Unit at Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC).

Highlights

RS-fMRI can detect drug effects with extremely high sensitivity in a small group of subjects.

The effect of a wide range of drugs on the RS-fMRI signal has been studied at CHDR in collaboration with the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition and the FMRIB (fMRI of the Brain) Analysis Group at the University of Oxford.

A library of RS-fMRI 'fingerprints' has been established for well-characterised psychoactive compounds.

RS-fMRI can be combined with task-based fMRI and other CNS function tests such as NeuroCart® and PainCart®.

A dedicated Philips Ingenia® 3.0T scanner is available at the LUMC’s Pharmaco-MRI Research Unit, ensuring that it is available for drug trials in patients and healthy volunteers.

Because a full RS-fMRI scan takes less than 10 minutes, several scans can be performed during a study day, without causing fatigue or distress to the subject.

The Pharmaco-MRI Research Unit

The Pharmaco-MRI Research Unit is part of LUMC’s Department of Radiology, which also includes general radiology, nuclear medicine, medical image processing, high-field MRI, and molecular imaging facilities. In addition to serving the needs of patients, the Radiology Department is strongly committed to research, as evidenced by three research dedicated scanners (one 7 Tesla and two 3 Tesla), and a full-service medical image processing group.

Want to know more about fMRI at CHDR? Contact us

Neurology

CHDR is contributing to the development of new drugs against neurodegeneration. We are developing biomarkers to demonstrate a compound’s effects in healthy volunteers, and at the same time we are expanding our abilities to perform research in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease or epilepsy. CHDR’s staff includes two board-certified neurologists with clinical positions in academic medical hospitals in Leiden and Amsterdam.